Every Story Begins With a Waiting
by Kamie-Kub
Summary: Mira finds a book. Mysterious things happen and soon Kagome finds the book and brings it through the well with her. Inuyasha and the gang don't trust it. Why? Read and find out. NOT COMPLETE!
1. Cover Page

**It Began With A**

**Waiting...**

_When a story begins with a waiting,_

_You will never know what's in store._

_It may end up the same _

_Or way different from before._

**o**

**o O o**

**o O o O o**

**o O o**

**o**

_K. Harichi_


	2. Findings

**Chapter 1**

**Findings**

Every story begins with a waiting. Whether it be for a ship to take sail or for a death to arrive, it is still a waiting.

This story is no different from the others for it, too, begins with a waiting. In Mira's case it was a waiting of the sort that is feared be most for she was waiting for a death, her death. She just didn't know it.

Mira James is a thirteen year old girl with blond hair and a few freckles dotting her nose. She was rather skinny for her age and a bit on the short side but that didn't matter because this was a girl that loved the world and in return it loved her back.

This was a girl that considered herself to be like any other. She didn't see herself as special in any way and she got fairly average grades in school but like everyone else she didn't believe an innocent book could change her. And like everyone else, she didn't know how wrong she was.

Walking home from the park on a warm summer evening was one of Mira's favorite things to do. She loved being outdoors in the sun, the rain, the snow and even the wind. She loved all nature and the weather just happened to be one of the things that soothed her soul after a long and boring day.

She sighed to herself in content as a warm breeze ruffled her short, wispy hair. All of the sudden she heard a splash coming from the direction of the river. Being curious like almost anyone would be she decided to go have a look. Couldn't hurt.

When Mira reached the water's edge she couldn't see anything that could have caused the noise. Looking into the river she saw a object in the shallows, something that didn't quite belong. She slid carefully down the muddy embankment and stepped into the ankle deep water. She peered slowly around the weeds and at first she saw nothing. Then she saw a book, and an old looking one at that. She picked it up carefully out of the river and gently turned the soggy pages.

On those pages were stories, all the ones she remembered from her childhood. Memories flashed through her mind of her mother reading these very stories to her as a child.

oOoOo

_"Mommy. Mommy can you read me this one?", asked a six year old Mira to her mother. "Of course", was the reply. As Mira's mother began the story 'Swan Princess', Mira settled herself down into the covers of her bed and hugged her doll, Sasha, close to her. _

_These were the times that Mira wanted to live in forever. The perfect times of stories and fantasy where nothing could harm her._

oOoOo

Being drawn back to reality by nearly falling into the water, she realized that she should be heading home so her mother wouldn't worry. The sopping wet pages of the book were all battered and torn around the edges but the stories were still there none the less. If she dried it out carefully and was sure not to tear the pages then the stories would have a chance of surviving their little swim.

She tenderly closed the book which was still as wet as the river itself and ran her fingers delicately over the leather bindings. There was no title and the leather was in surprisingly good shape considering.

Hugging the book to her chest she continued to walk the remaining blocks that remained to reach her house.

Reaching her destination she realized that she didn't want her mother to know about her new found treasure. She wasn't entirely sure why but she was always the type who listened to her instincts no matter if her conscience said otherwise.

She open and closed the door softly and attempted sneaking to her room but she tripped over the foyer table's leg in the front hall. Holding back a yelp of pain she continued but her mother had already heard the thump and came out of the kitchen while wiping her hands on her apron.

"Mira, sweetie, how was your walk?", she asked her daughter.

"Fine I guess", was the subtle reply. Mira was not in the mood for talking, not even to her mother whom she loved. She kept her back turned from her mother so the book wouldn't be seen.

"What's that you got there?", was the next question. Mira's mother was a very caring person, always putting others before herself. At the moment she was seven months pregnant with Mira's step-dad's child but she still helped anybody despite her condition.

Jim was a nice man but at first glance you'd think him a tough, heartless being with absolutely no consideration for any soul in the world. Once you knew him, however, he was just a big old worry wart that wouldn't hurt a fly. He was always worried about Mira and her mother but never to the extent that he would freak at the smallest thing like a scrape or a bruise. Just 'fatherly instincts', or so mother put it.

"Nothing mom. Just my math book that I left outside", Mira lied. She wasn't going to show this to anybody so might as well make and excuse for it being there.

"Mira you know you shouldn't leave your school things outside. What if they got ruined? Then what would you do?"

"What does it matter? The damn book is fine!", the girl snapped at her mother. Then she gasped. Never in her life had she spoken to anybody like that before. And never had she swore to her mother, or anyone for that matter.

Forgetting about the book for a moment she turned to face her mother. She had the most shocked and hurt expression Mira had ever seen her wear.

With pleading eyes she begged her mother to forgive her. "Mom I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me! Please don't be sad, I didn't mean it! I swear I didn't! I-"

"Hush Mira, that's quite enough", was all her mother said coldly to her before returning to the kitchen to finish washing the dinner dishes. It was obvious that she had not been expecting something like that out of her daughter.

The young girl retreated to her room and closed the door quietly. She felt absolutely awful about her foreign attitude towards her mother. Holding down the guilt she returned her attention back to the book. She realized then just how lucky she was that her mom hadn't noticed that it wasn't her math book in her arms but a leather bound one still dripping with water.

She still felt terrible about the way she had acted. _'But don't all people my age act this way? Talking back to my mom is normal, isn't it?'_, she asked herself. She wasn't really expecting an answer but sighed anyway when she didn't get one.

She decided that the best thing to do would be to dry the book off and keep her mind off of her guilty conscience. Looking around she grabbed an old purple t-shirt with holes in it and decided that it was the best thing to use to mop up the water on the book's pages.

When that was done she went down the hall as silently as she could to the bathroom to grab the hair dryer. On the way she overheard her mother relaying what had happened earlier to Jim.

"-never seen her act like that before. I didn't think she would ever have the reason to".

"She is growing up Sallie. Maybe she's having troubles at school or maybe boy troubles-

"**She's too young to have a boyfriend!**", Mira's mother exclaimed. That's when Mira left. She didn't need to hear this. And besides, Jim would start kissing her mother soon to soothe her and calm her down, something she wasn't interested in witnessing.

After returning to her room she began the task of blow drying the books pages dry. It took an hour or two and her arm was completely spent from holding the hair dryer up for so long but she was content. None of the pages were ruined by her touch!

Sitting back into her pillows on her bed she opened the book once more to observe the stories. She was surprised and a little shocked to find that the once tan, riped pages were now in tact and milky white, almost as if the book had never been touched before.

She came across 'Swan Princess' and yet again she was swamped with memories of her childhood. Not caring that this particular story was intended for small children, she settled into a comfier position and began to read.

When she finished she glanced at the clock and scowled at the fact that it was almost eleven. She had already passed her bed time by about an hour or so just from reliving the tales she fantasized herself in.

Mira lay the book tenderly under her pillow and soon fell into a peaceful and dream-filled sleep.

Over the next two or so weeks she noticed that every time she opened her book there were different stories inside. They had changed according to her mood like when she was happy, sad or feeling adventurous.

On this particular day, however, she was giddy from the news she had received recently. This news just happened to be about her father, her real father. He was coming to Seattle from New York just to see her! And for Thanks Giving of course.

Mira hadn't seen her father in a little over a year because her parents needed just a little more time to cool off from the divorce. They got along fine now, at least over the phone they did.

Even though her family life was fine she realized that her so called friends weren't talking to her any more. They had all ditched her because she was apparently too much of a snob for their liking. Since when had she been a snob? She didn't really care though. Besides, who needs friends if you have an enchanted book by your side?

That night she opened her book to see what it held for her today. She was stunned to find nothing what so ever. Absolutely nothing but blank paper.

Putting her thumb on the paper she closed the book slightly as not to loose her spot. If the book was closed entirely it would probably change again.

Scanning the cover Mira noticed that the brown leather cover was the same as always except for one thing. On the cover were the words printed in fancy gold writing:

_Mira's Diary_

And the gold shimmered in the light as if by magic.

This had never happened before. Slowly she grabbed a pen and began to write slowly on the crisp white paper. Soon words began to flow from the pen as she spilled all her secrets and desires as if a demon possessed her to do so. Everything was written in that book now that even she had to think hard about to remember. No one else knew about any of this except her, and now the book.

Her every emotion seeped in to the paper along with the ink into the diary and in what seemed like no time at all she had filled over twenty pages. Mira stopped and stared at her work like a stunned rabbit. Closing the book she sighed happily and slipped it under her pillow like she did every night since the day she found it.

She fell asleep thinking about the books new found secret but in the morning she couldn't even remember.


	3. Devastation

**Chapter 2**

**Devastation**

Waiting. She had been waiting for an hour for her father to arrive. He was supposed to be there four hours ago.

It was Thanks Giving day and Mira's father was supposed to come and have dinner with them and spend the week with her. She sat at the window watching the road through the thick sheets of rain. Four hours. Her father was usually a very punctual man and almost always showed up on time.

"Maybe he's stuck in traffic", her mother said. She was holding the three week old baby in her arms with such care that it made Mira wonder how she became such a kind, loving mother and wife. Lately she had grown distant from her mother because of all the fights and squabbles they got in.

"Maybe", Mira replied. She was starting to get that feeling in her stomach. The one that told her that something was wrong. Her instincts were kicking in yet again though her conscience said that everything was fine, as usual.

At seven o'clock that night her step-dad said, "Maybe we should have dinner now. Henry probably won't make it in this weather"

Mira sighed. She knew he was right but she didn't want to start without her dad. "Alright, but on one condition. I'm gonna call his cell first and ask if he can make it before eight, okay?"

"Alright punkin", he replied while ruffling her hair. Mira ran to the phone and dialed her dad's cell number. The line was dead after the first ring. The voice of a computer message came instead of her fathers. It said, 'We're sorry but you call did not go through. Please hang up and try your call again later'.

Mira hung up and sulked back to the couch. "Well?", her mother asked.

"The call didn't go through", she said.

"Don't worry honey", said Jim. "He's probably in a no reception zone".

"What would you know! He's probably dead now because of me! He's dead because I wanted him to come out here and spend time with _me_!", she shouted at him.

"Mira!", her mother exclaimed. The baby in her arms started to cry from all the yelling.

"Your over reacting Mira", said Jim calmly. "He'll be fine, I promise you".

'I_'ll hold you to that'_, she thought bitterly.

An hour or so after dinner the phone rang. Mira ran to it in hope that it was her father.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is Mrs. James there please? This is important", replied the unknown voice.

"Umm... yea, just a minute", she said and handed the phone to her mother. "It's for you".

"Hello? Yes. What? Oh my God! Yes, right away, thank-you!". That was the only part of the conversation Mira heard and it confused her and it also sounded bad.

"Mom? Mom, what's wrong? Is it dad?".

"Get in the car Mira", was all her mother said to her.

"Why mom? What's wrong?".

"Just get in the car!".

Mira did as she was told and soon they were driving down a crowded street. She knew this road, it led to the hospital! _'No! Dad, you can't be in the hospital! You can't!'_, she thought desperately as they pulled to the curb.

They all got out and rushed inside. Sallie went to deal with the people at the front desk while Mira stood back near the door with Jim's hands on her shoulders.

Even without hearing the conversation Mira had a pretty good idea of what was happening. The nurse pointed down the hall and Sallie beckoned for her and Jim to follow.

They reached the door of one of the rooms and went in quietly. Mira nearly cried out at what she saw. In the hospital bed lay her father, barely recognizable under all the blood, bruises and bandages.

She ran forward and looked into the man's eyes. They were glittering up at her in the same way they always used to except this time they were full of pain. There was no doubt though, this was definitely her father.

She pulled up a chair and sat beside him. "Daddy?", she asked in barely a whisper.

"Hey sweetie. Happy Thanks Giving", he said in a pained voice.

"What do you mean 'Happy Thanks Giving? There's nothing _happy_ about it!", she hissed in an angry whisper. Her eyes stung with threatening tears but she held them back. Her father would be fine...

"It's happy because I got to see you. I'll miss you Mira", he said.

"I... what do you mean? You're gonna be fine dad. Just a few scrapes and bruises, no big deal. You've been through worse before! Don't say you'll miss me when you're not going anywhere!", she said in a choked voice. He wasn't going to die, he couldn't.

"Mira, I-".

"No! I won't hear it! Your going to be fine but you need to rest!". Her voice was raising to a level that wasn't allowed in hospitals. A nurse came in and asked her to calm down. Her mother and Jim stepped forward to help but she pushed them away.

She became silent, however, when her father began to explain what happened.

"I was being careful not to hit anything but the rain was so thick that everyone was having trouble seeing. I started driving when the light changed but some guy in a pick-up truck didn't see my black car and hit the drivers side. The car rolled over twice and landed in it's roof", her father relayed to her. His voice was raspy from the tubes in his throat and no doubt from his injuries also.

Mira was silent with shock. "I love you Mira", her father said as he grasped her hand. "The best daughter I could have ever had".

His hand went limp and the heart rate monitor stopped. Mira couldn't hold the tears back any longer and began to cry so hard she had trouble breathing. Laying her head down on his motionless stomach the cried her heart out. For an hour this went on. The doctors couldn't drag her away and she refused to leave.

Around two in the morning they managed to drag Mira away from the corpse of her dead father. When they got home she ran for the bathroom and saw her dinner for the second time that night. Jim came in after her and rubbed her back. Her mother should have been in his place but she wasn't. '_She probably hates me'_, Mira thought to herself. This didn't help her condition for she vomited even more.

After seeing many colours that were never meant to be, Mira brushed her teeth and went to bed. _'He lied'_, she thought. _'Jim lied to me. He said that my dad would be fine'._

She cried herself to sleep that night and would for many more to come. Not even her precious book could help her now.


	4. A Waiting Shall Cease

**Chapter 3**

**A Waiting Shall Cease**

Two weeks after her fathers death, Mira still hardly ventured to leave her room. She had literally lived in there since that tragic day and only left to go to the bathroom or get minimal amounts of food. Of course, she only did this at night as not to run into her mother or her step-father.

Lately eating had been replaced with sleeping until she surrendered to physical need. That's when she got up around two in the morning and slipped anything she could out of the refrigerator. Mostly fruit and leftovers.

She never saw her mother or Jim and she put a chair under the door handle to keep them out. Her blinds were always closed to keep out the light. She wallowed in the darkness of her room and her heart, no energy or will power to do anything.

One of those days of eternal darkness Mira thought she heard a voice, a faint voice but still there none the less. It was close but too faint to understand. She sat up in her bed and tried to locate the source of this noise.

Under her pillow? That can't be right. There's nothing under there except the book...

Lifting up her pillow slowly she saw that the book was glowing lightly around the edges.

Again she was curious. She opened the book with caution to find that all her diary pages were clear but there was writing forming on the page.

'_Mira, don't be sad. I can help you, I can end your sorrow',_it wrote.

Quickly Mira grabbed a pen and wrote under the message, 'how?'

'_Over the past few months I've been feeding off your emotions. I learned what made you sad, what made you happy, even angry. That's also why I allowed you to use me as a diary. I wanted to know about you, learn off you. Now there is nothing left to learn. What you know, I know.'_

'What do you mean? What are you talking about?'. Normally she would have felt stupid about talking to a book, in a sense. Lately though, she had been through so much that it didn't register in her mind that this was out of the ordinary.

_'I think you know perfectly well exactly what I mean. Look at the calender first',_ it told her. The only question in her mind was why. She obeyed, however, and saw that it was Christmas Eve.

With a deers wide eyes she turned back to the book. How much did this thing know? It knew everything down to the date, that's how much. She no longer felt that this... this... _thing_ was her only source of comfort.

_'Frightened know I see...',_ it wrote. Then, all of the sudden vines shooting towards her wrists. She watched in horror but was too shocked to react. Mira noticed that the vines had emerged from the book itself.

_'I bet your wondering just what I am or where I came from. I'm willing to share Mira, dear, unlike you. _

_'You see, six hundred years ago was when this story took place. My creator was merely trying to create an enchanted book that showed you the stories you wanted to see. He made a mistake, however, thus I was created. _

_All he wanted was to make an innocent little book to amuse the village children. I killed him when he tried to destroy me. He found my glitch of having a mind of my own and determined me to be too dangerous._

_He was right, of course. But he was also mortal. I've survived through the centuries, learning and thriving off of human emotions._

_I met you only because one boy was too strong for my powers. That's why he threw me in the river, and that's how I met you, dear Mira'._

Meanwhile, Mira's wrists were going pale from the books hold on her wrists. She moved her hand slightly to write on the page once more.

'Who are you? What are you going to do to me?', she wrote. She dreaded the answer but she read it anyway when it appeared.

_'I'm glad you asked, dear Mira'._ She wished it would stop calling her that but she had more important things on her mind. '_I am the book of feudal magic. I hold the power that humans now do not know how to conjure. They would if they believed but nobody does. Such a shame._

_'As for what I'm going to do to you, well, I'm going to kill you now that you are of no use to me'._

Her only thought were based on her family. Sure she squabbled with them but... it was the books fault! It was possessing her! That's why she couldn't apologize! The damn book wouldn't let her!

She would have screamed in frustration but the book had wrapped more vines around her throat. Slowly at first they crawled, then they coiled quickly and tightened, strangling her slightly. Barely able to breathe, Mira struggled to escape from her capturer's grasp but it held strong, with some kind of magic, no doubt.

_'You can't escape Mira. We both know you can't. It's really no use struggling. I wonder though. What do you think your mother's reaction will be, finding her precious little girl on the floor. No matter how much you fought with her, you still love each other. And to think, no time to say sorry'._

The book tightened its grip so she couldn't breathe. She fell back into her pillows, gasping for air. As the book sucked the life out of her, Mira saw her life flashing before her very eyes. All her memories. Then she saw the baby, her baby brother wouldn't remember her! He was too young!

_'Goodbye Mira',_the book wrote, though she didn't see it. It drained her life away.

She lay still, dead. No more laughter, no more playing, ...no more waiting.

Mira James' waiting had come to an end. Every story may begin with a waiting, but they certainly don't end that way. Not this time at least.

__


	5. Epilogue to Mira James

**Epilogue to Mira's Story**

The book had vanished for a timeafter killing Mira and no onehad ever found out her cause of death. Her family was devastated at the loss of their precious girl and it took them months to recover enough to function properly.

Years passed and many more deaths were heard of that resembled the young girl's, but the people killed had met the same fate as Mira James had andit wasall kept in the dark from the public as to avoid panic.

Mira's baby brother, Eric, grew up without knowing who she was, he had only heard stories and saw pictures. He is now eighteen with a collage degree and wonders every day what his elder sister was like.

Mira's mother and step-dad lay flowers on her grave and every Christmas they said a special prayer in honor of their daughter and her fateful and tragic death.

From what is known, the book was never truly destroyed...


	6. Kagome's Story

**Chapter 5**

**Kagome's Discovery**

Twenty years had passed without a trace of the book. Kagome Higurachi was 16 and hadn't a clue that such a thing even exsisted.

Today, Kagome was waiting. She wasn't waiting for a death as the long since dead girl Mira had been. No, she was waiting for something entirally different. Her hanyou. That's what she was waiting for but he just had to choose that day of all days to be late.

"Inuyasha, where the heck are you? Being half an hour late isn't helping!", she said bitterly to no one. He was really only ten minutes or so late but Kagome was getting impatient. What can I say, she's an impatient person.But there was something she needed to show him but of course he was late, again.

As she stood outside her school she began to let her thoughts drift away from reality into her own little world. What seemed like two seconds later she was being brought back to reality by her hanyou, shaking her to say the least.

"Kagome! Snap out of it wench! We have to go back to the feudal era! Remember?"

"Well sorry! It's not _my _fault you were late!", she yelled back, not happy of at being pulled out of her fantacy world.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean! You know I can't go outside without this!", he shouted, jestering to his hat. "Of course, that's only _your_ rule! And it's not _my_ fault your mother wouldn't stop pestering me about- uh... never mind", he said.

"About what?", Kagome asked with curiosity all over her face. "What was she pestering you about? Come on tell me!"

"No, plain and simple. Lets go"

Kagome sighed and began to walk back to her house when Inuyasha suddenly grabbed her hand and pointed to himself. "This way's faster. No one will notice", he said innocently.

"Alright, I suppose so. Besides, we've done it before, right? Couldn't hurt!", she said while climbing onto his back. They had tobe backin the feudal by noon the next day, or so said Inuyasha. At least he was considderate enough to let her sleep in her bed just one more night before thay left again.

OoOoO

Kagome threw her bag out of the well then heaved herself over the edge. "Come on wench! Hurry it up!", yelled Inuyasha as he walked along the path to the village.

"Well you could help me a little ya know! This bag is heavy..."

"Well you shouldn't pack as much stuff. Why do you insist on bringing all of those books with you? There no use here in the feudal era", Inuyasha stated.

"Why you... SIT!"

WHAM!

"YOU! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!", Inuyasha screamed into the mouthful of dirt.

"Because your being so immature!"

"**_I'm_ being immature?**"

"SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT!"

"CRASH! BOOM! BANG! (lol)

OoOoO

"Kagome and Inuyasha are back", Sango stated calmly.

"Indeed they are", said the monk. "They need to learn to get along better than that ifwe're ever going to fight Naraku sucessfuly".

"Well, it be clear that they love each other, as do ye two", said Kaede without looking away from the stew.

Sango and Miroku both blushed and looked away from each other.

"Hey everyone!" Kagome exclaimed cheerfully.

"Hello Kagome! How was it in your time?", asked Sango.

"Ah, relaxing", she replied with a dreamy smile on her face.

"Where did Inuyasha go?"

"Oh, he's pouting in his tree outside", Kagome told them in a 'I don't really care' manner. "Sango, want to go to the springs with me? I didn't have a chance to bathe before I left".

"Sure Kagome. You stay here monk!"

"I will watch him, don't ye worry", said Kaede while hitting Miroku on the head with her wooden spoon.

"Thanks Kaede", both girls said as they left the hut.

Miroku on the other hand asked the pointless question of "What was that for? I wasn't even planning on doing anything..." whap, swerlie eyes


End file.
